the cantaloupe.

We made a day trip out of Mae Sot last week for work, and on the way there is a popular organic market along the highway. We made a stop and picked up a few treasures which I was pretty excited about.

As we walked through the market, a woman held out a piece of cantaloupe for me to try. At first I refused, because although cantaloupe is probably my favorite fruit, the cantaloupe in this country is a disappointment. It’s like water with a bad aftertaste.

She continued to push it toward me, so I took a piece.

And it was so good. Suddenly I wasn’t standing in the rain along an Asian highway; I was in Tennessee with Stephen, where we’d pick up a cantaloupe for me and get him donuts, and enjoy breakfast outside.

I picked up a large one and asked her the price. When I heard the $6, I shook my head in shock. We can buy most fruits here for round about $1 a kilo, and even 3 kilos of cantaloupe didn’t seem worth that. But she negotiated pretty quickly, following me offering lower prices. I eventually conceded at $3 and took it home.

We planned to go to our friends’ house for dinner last night and were bringing a fruit contribution. I suggested I cut up the cantaloupe, but Stephen was skeptical. What if they don’t even like cantaloupe, and they eat it to be nice?  What if they don’t really appreciate it? 

It was a big cantaloupe, so in the end I decided sharing half wouldn’t be awful.

We put out the cantaloupe and the husband tried one with a fork. He interrupted the conversation with, “What is this? It’s delicious! Where did you bring this from?? It’s like a real melon from home!”

Fully appreciated. We all oohed and ahhed over it while discussing how awful the melons are here, with the exception of this little gem.